Did Wale Diss DC's Gay Community?

"Our headliner is very important to us, so often they are on the cover of the 'Metro Weekly' or the 'Washington Blade,' and they started pushing his people and he got cold feet and decided he didn't want to do it," said Earl Fowlkes, of Black Pride.

Earl Fowlkes, a board member and spokesperson for Black Pride... said Black Pride organizers were startled this week when they received two e-mails from Wale’s agent, one saying the rapper had to cancel due to "family obligations," and the second saying he didn’t know Black Pride was a gay-related event when he agreed to appear.

"Then we were told that we didn't give him the correct information, we mislead him, which is definitely not true," Fowlkes said.

Organizers said they agreed to pay Wale $18,000 for a 45-minute performance, News4's Darcy Spencer reported. Wale's agent has refunded an advance fee, but Fowlkes said the group is considering legal action for breach of contract.

Wale's agent didn't want to comment to Spencer but is quoted on several websites as saying Wale was mislead.

Organizers called the cancellation an insult to the gay black community.

"I don't want to accuse him of this but I believe that I would be remiss if I didn't say it was homophobia," Fowlkes said.

Black Pride had wanted to book a black male artist for their 20th annual festival. The group has had many black female artists in the past, Fowlkes said.